The CoExistence Plan
by AU Authoress
Summary: AU to the first book. AH! Artemis Fowl kidnaps and elf named Holly Short to use for his schemes. His plan is to expose her as an elf, then gain the fame for discovering this new species. But it turns out a bit differently than he expects when his emotions start to come into play as he starts to fall for her. What happens then?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! AU Authoress here, with my first AU story on here! :D**

**This is going to be an AU, obviously, and of the infamous Artemis Fowl series, and this one is an AU of the first book. **

**I have changed some things, for example, Artemis is older, twenty one instead of twelve, and he isn't as cold or mean as he actually was in the first AF book. I changed some things about Holly too, like her age. I suppose you could say that I switched it for her and Artemis, so she won't be as mature, and definitely not old enough to be working with recon yet, though her being above ground will be linked to them somehow, though I'm not saying how yet. ;)**

**The characters will be OOC, though how much I can't say for sure.**

** I hope those things can be looked past, and if it bothers anybody, sorry. **

**I suppose I should get on with the story... so here it is! I hope you enjoy!**

Artemis walked as quickly and calmly as he could, down to the basement, wanting to be there when his prisoner woke up, actually hoping to be there a little before. Perhaps then he could get a few good pictures in.

As he had hoped, the woman was still sound asleep when he entered the room. She was snoring softly, breathing deeply in and out, oblivious to the world around her as she dreamt peacefully.

Artemis sighed as he lifted the camera from around his neck, flipping it open and taking a few quick snapshots of her head, then zooming out to take a few pictures of her whole body.

He paused for a second after about the fifth picture, realizing something important was missing in the photos.

He had forgotten to expose her ears so they were visible in the pictures! How could he have done something so stupid? That was practically the most important feature of her entire body to his cause! He mentally slapped himself for his insolence as he reached down and gently brushed the hair back off her face and tucked it behind her ears.

They twitched slightly as he brushed his fingers over their tips. He noted that mentally for later. It could be useful in making her cooperate.

He took a few more quick pictures, then walked out of the room, walking back up to the kitchen where his bodyguard, Butler, was cooking a late dinner. "How's the prisoner?" he asked, as his charge took a chair behind him.

"Fine. She's still sleeping, though. I actually was going to go sit down there until she wakes up, but I was hoping I could have a glass of water first, because I'm pretty sure she'll be thirsty when she wakes."

"Oh, of course." The manservant dropped the spatula and walked over to the cabinet, grabbed a glass from the cupboard above the sink. He filled it and then handed it to the man. "Here you go."

"Thank you. If you need me, you know where I'll be."

He walked out of the kitchen and headed back down to the basement.

When he got there, the creature strapped to the small cot was still sleeping. To pass the time, Artemis perched on the edge of the cot and flipped through the pictures he'd taken of her earlier.

Her sudden movement was what tipped him off to her eventual awakening.

Sometime during Artemis's second trip through the photographs, the woman's eyes fluttered open. She remained silent, though, her eyes darting around to take in everything she could of her surroundings. At first she was confused, but then she remembered what had happened, being kidnaped by the Mud People, and the pieces clicked into place. She groaned internally, then slowly started moving her wrists together, trying to loosen the bonds on them. She was careful not to make too much noise, not wanting to tip the human off that she had already seen by her head that she was awake.

Unfortunately, Artemis's ears were almost as sensitive as her own, and he immediately heard the sound of the ropes rubbing. His eyes immediately transferred to her, locking on her face with intensity that made her freeze. She swallowed audibly, but didn't dare to make any other sounds or moves.

"How long have you been awake?"

The soft tone surprised her, but she tried not to show it as she answered quietly, "just a few minutes."

He nodded. "Good. Now tell me, what's your name, girl?"

"I'm not telling you anything," she said defiantly, with more bravado than she actually felt. She was surprised at herself, unsure where the courage to stand up to the human came from, but decided to try to keep it up anyhow.

Artemis sighed. "Listen, girl. I don't advise you deny me the information I am asking from you, as it could lead to some... complications, that neither of us want to put up with. I am only trying to help you. Now, I will ask you one more time; what is your name?"

She trembled slightly as she said, "H- Holly. Holly Short."

"Well, Holly, my name is Artemis. Artemis Fowl the second, to be precise, and I am pleased to meet you. I'd shake your hand, but as they are bound, that might be not work too well." He chuckled slightly, and she whimpered. He drew his brows together. "What?"

She bit her lip. "Nothing. I just..." she trailed off. "Never mind. I- It's nothing."

His expression softened. "Oh, I see. You're scared of me." She didn't respond. "Well, Holly, there really isn't any need for that. As long as you behave yourself and listen to my orders, you have no reason to be afraid. Okay?"

She nodded, but he could see she was still scared. "How old are you, Holly?" he asked gently.

Holly thought about whether or not she should tell him, and thought about not doing it, but decided it wasn't worth it. "Thirty two," she said truthfully.

Artemis nodded thoughtfully. _In elf years, that's just a few years younger than me_, he thought. _She's about a late teenager, almost an adult in human years. _

_That explains a lot_.

"M- Mr. Fowl?" Holly asked, her voice breaking into his thoughts. "Are you... I- I mean, what exactly am I here for?"

She had started to say, "are you going to hurt me?" but stopped. She didn't want to know the answer.

He cocked his head. "I don't think I should tell you that yet," he admitted.

"I- I..." She deflated, closing her eyes. "Okay."

Artemis gave her a sympathetic look. "It's okay, Holly," the man promised her. "It will be okay. **You** will be okay."

Holly opened her eyes and looked at him, and he could see the tears glistening in her eyes. "Really? You- you promise?"

"Yes," he promised. "I promise."

She pressed her face into his side, and he cradled her head gently against him, making soothing noises and murmuring soft reassurances as she cried into his side. "Hey, you're alright," he murmured. "It's okay."

Eventually, her tears dried, and she just laid there with him. After a while, he spoke. "Do you want to move from the basement?" Artemis asked her.

She looked at him with hopeful, but sad eyes. "Can I? Is that okay? I- I mean... I guess I wouldn't have thought that hostages would be given comfort, especially not hostages of Mud Men. Dad always said to never trust humans, and if I was ever caught in a situation with one to try to get away as fast as I could. Not that I'd try to run away," she said in a rush, "I was just thinking out loud. The point is that I would have thought from what I heard about your kind of people that hostages of the Mud Men would be treated cruelly and be tortured and stuff..."

He gave her a funny look. "Perhaps some would, but I was going to treat you a bit more humanely than that. Are you saying you don't want me to?"

"No!" she squealed. "Please, no! I was just... It..."

He shook his head. "Then I won't. Now, listen. If I am going to do this, I am going to have to have your word that you won't try to escape, and that you'll follow orders. Understand? If you can't do that, then I can't let you off this cot, let alone leave the basement."

She trembled slightly, but nodded. "Alright. I give you my word, a- and if you need more than that, I won't fight you on giving me any orders."

"Good. I trust you, Holly, but I still think I should put a few rules down in place just to get them out of the way." He placed a hand on her cheek, cupping it as he tipped her head up slightly and met her eyes. "You are a hostage, Holly. Remember that. As of right now, I own you, and any orders that I give must be followed. I will try to be lenient, and give you what little freedom I can, but you have to be cooperative, or even that will be taken away.

"You are free to roam the manor as you please, unless I tell you otherwise, then you stay where I put you and don't leave. You are not allowed to, however, leave the manor at any time without me or my bodyguard by your side, and you will only be able to go with him if I tell you you can too. Got that?"

She nodded.

"Great. I don't think there's really much else to tell you right now, and that's most of the basic ground rules laid out." He patted her cheek. "Remember that, and you'll be fine. There will be people here to see you sometimes, and if they tell you to do something, you will do that too. But that won't be for a while yet. So, in the mean time, make yourself as comfortable as you can, because this place is your new home."

"Will I ever be allowed to leave?"

"Perhaps someday. At this moment, though, you aren't."

"Oh," Holly whispered, her voice cracking. "O- okay."

Artemis smiled gently as he started to untie her hands. "I know it's a lot to take in a one time, just try your hardest and we'll be good." He finished quickly and helped her stand, then handed her the glass of water carefully. Her hand shook slightly, but she accepted it gratefully and took a careful sip. Artemis's hand wrapped around hers to keep her from dropping the glass.

"Thanks," she murmured, pressing it back into his hand. He nodded, and held the door open for her as she walked past him and out of it.

He caught her arm before she could go too far, then yelled, "Butler!" She whimpered and covered her ears. "Ah, sorry. I forgot how sensitive your ears are." Just then the biggest man Holly had ever seen came stomping down the steps. "Oh, there you are. Find a guest room for the girl to sleep in, I have a few calls I need to make."

Holly's eyes widened. "You can't leave me with him!"

Artemis ruffled her hair. "It's okay," he told her. "He won't hurt you. Just do as he says and you'll be fine." Then he disappeared up the curling staircase.

Holly trembled visibly as she turned to the huge man in front of her. He was staring up the stairs, shaking his head and watching his charge go. Then he turned back to the tiny elf in front of him. "Don't worry," he said in a deep voice. "I don't have any orders too crazy for you, just come with me, so we can find you a room." Then he turned and started walking away. Holly quickly followed.

It only took a few minutes, then Butler found a suitable room and guided the elf inside of it. "There you go," he said simply. "Now just wait here for Artemis to come back." Then he left the room.

For once, Holly didn't even bother herself with taking in her surroundings as he father had always told her to, instead she just ran over and threw herself onto the big mahogany bed and proceeded to burst out in tears again in the pillows.

That was where she stayed until she fell asleep again.

**Okay, so what do you think? Love it, hate it? Should I trash it? Please tell me in a review! :) Or maybe not... Either way, thanks for reading! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to those who reviewed! In return, I worked quick for a new chapter! :) Anybody else see a chain reaction with that?**

When Butler reentered the kitchen, his charge was sitting at the top of the large oval table, a phone against his ear, speaking softly. The manservant sighed and walked quietly over to the stove to take dinner off before it burned.

When Artemis hung up, he said, "already arranging business meetings?"

The male shrugged. "Why not? The sooner the better. That was a local scientist, lives not too far away. He's going to come in about a week and check her out."

"If he's so close, then why is it going to take him a week?"

"He apparently had other things to do tomorrow. And he'll need a few hours at least for travel time, so to make it less complicated I gave him three days." Artemis shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, because she'll still be here then."

Butler nodded. "It makes sense." He paused. "Also, you might want to go check on her. I'm pretty sure she started crying after I left."

Artemis sighed. "Yes, I'm sure she's very emotional. Do you know how old she is? Thirty two. That's somewhere in the late teens in human years. I'm not positive exactly where, but I think somewhere between sixteen and eighteen."

Butler raised his eyebrows. "Really? That is young."

"Especially for an elf." He tapped his fingers on the edge of the table. "A little too young to be above ground all alone, don't you think?"

"Definitely," Butler agreed. "She had to have had a chaperone of some kind. I take it this means we should expect someone after her?"

"There is a possibility," Artemis said, "but I'm hoping it doesn't come up." He sighed. "I suppose I should go check on her now. I'll shall return in a few minutes."

He walked upstairs to the room Butler had put Holly in, wondering what he was going to do with her. He sighed as he opened the door.

She was lying on the bed with her head in the pillows, her breathing ragged but deep, and she was obviously asleep. He perched on the edge of the bed beside her, watching her closely. _What_ am _I going to do with you, Holly_? he wondered, reaching out to stroke her hair.

Instantly, the elf was shocked into awareness, and she rolled out from under his hand to lay on her side and stare at him with wide, red-rimmed eyes. He could tell that Butler was right— she _had_ been crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head. "N- nothing. I'm fine."

"Liar," Artemis said confidently.

Holly shook her head, but she didn't meet his eyes. "Holly," he said softly, grabbing her chin and pulling her head up, "talk to me. What's the matter?"

She shook her head again. "No. I- it doesn't matter. You wouldn't understand anyways."

"I would, if you give me a chance."

"No." She looked up at him. "Please, just leave me alone for a while. I- I just..."

His hand slid up the side of her face, cradling her head gently. "I know. It's okay. I promise." He leaned in and pulled her head to his chest, and she buried her face in his shirt.

"I just want to go home," she whispered. "Is that such a crime?"

"Sweetheart, of course not," he answered, squeezing her gently. "But I can't let you do that."

"Why? Why do I have to be kept here?" Holly looked up at him, desperately trying not to start crying again, but failing. "What do you want from me?"

Artemis wiped a tear off her cheek and sighed. "You really want to know?"

She nodded. "Please."

"Fine." He put his lips right by her ear. "I'm going to exploit you, Holly. I'm going to introduce your kind to humans. And it's going to start with you. I'll expose you for what you really are, slowly letting the rest of the world know what they are living with. Then you won't have to live below ground anymore. It's a win-win."

"Not for us!" Holly said, horrified. "You can't do that! You'll kill us all!"

"No, I won't. By exposing you slowly, it gives people— all people, including your own— time to adjust to the idea and what it implies. Desensitization."

"Desesi- what?"

"Desensitization. Also known as exposure therapy," Artemis explained.

"Whether they're used to us or not, humans are just naturally curious creatures. And they won't think twice about using violence against us to quench that curiosity," Holly argued.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me that there aren't any fairies that would give themselves to science for experiments. And even so, what do you think we'd be curious about?"

He gently pushed her down, laying her flat on the bed. "Your anatomy?" He poked her stomach. "I'm pretty sure that you guys know about that stuff. We wouldn't need to do anything but get access to some of the medical records to find that out.

"I know your kind is more technologically advanced than we are. I'm sure they even have pictures somewhere of what your insides look like if anybody wanted those, too. What information could we possibly want about the People that your race can't supply? And you can think of it switched, too, because the same thing would go for if they were curious about us humans." He shrugged.

"T- there's a lot of 'what ifs' in this though," Holly said desperately. "I mean, what if they don't accept us? What if they don't take it the right way? What if we end up going to war again? There's dozens of ways it can go wrong!"

"Then it's our job to make sure it goes right," Artemis told her. "You, and the way you deal with this, will make a whole world of difference. Don't you see? It's you they will be meeting first, and finding out about. If you make a good impression, people are going to realize that they people who brought you up, though different from us, can't be half bad. On the other hand, if you make a bad impression, they're going to want to get away from you and keep your kind away. They won't like you then."

"Why are you pinning this on me, then, if its so important"?" she asked. Her eyes were wide with fear and still glistening with tears. "What if I can't do this? What if I do something wrong? Then what happens?"

"I won't let that happen," Artemis said, shaking his head. "I'm going to help you the best I can, Holly, to make sure that everything goes smoothly. I won't leave your side for a minute if you don't want me too."

She took a few deep breaths, in and out, calming herself. "How will it work?"

"What do you mean?"

"How will you do it?"

"Oh, that's already been taken care of. There's a man coming over at the end of this week to meet you."

"Oh," she said quietly. "Then what do I do until then?"

He shrugged. "Explore the manor. Read. Become aquatinted with Butler or myself. It doesn't make much of a difference to me. There are some other activities we could engage in as well, though none that you probably know how to do, as I am thinking more along the lines of human things."

"Well, maybe you could teach me?" she pleaded. "You say we should get aquatinted, what better way than that?"

He chuckled. "You are an eager little thing, aren't you? I bet I could do that."

"Really?"

"Yes." He raised an eyebrow. "You sound rather surprised. What, did you think I would say no?"

"Maybe," she said, her tone slightly defensive. Then it was back to the same as before; nervous, but eager. "When do we start?"

"Whenever, I suppose. But I do think we should get some food into you first." Artemis stood and offered her his hand. "You have to be hungry."

"I am, actually," she admitted, taking his offered hand. He pulled her to her feet. "Oh, and Mr. Fowl?"

"Call me Artemis," Artemis said. "But yes?"

Holly tipped her head back and caught his eyes. "Artemis," she repeated, slowly, "thank you."

Artemis smiled at her, squeezing the hand he still had in his own. "You're welcome, Holly. You're always welcome."


	3. Chapter 3

The days up until the meeting went by quickly, for both Artemis and Holly, mostly because they were both worried about it. Holly because she was afraid of messing up or saying something that would endanger her race or herself, and Artemis because, even after talking to Holly and getting her word that she would cooperate, he was still worried that she might not, and that would make both of them look bad, not to mention the danger it could put her and her race in.

The day of, Artemis and Holly had a brief chess match (which he had taught her how to play), and then parted ways to get ready. He had told her what to do, and she had followed instructions, though reluctantly. She was supposed to take a shower, get dressed in the clothes Artemis laid out for her, and then do something with her hair.

She only managed to get the first step done.

As she stepped out of the shower, she rang out her hair, the wrapped it in one towel before wrapping another around herself and walking out of the bathroom to get the clothes Artemis was supposed to have laid out on her bed for her. But when she stepped out, that was not what was on her bed.

Instead, she saw Artemis and another man sitting there, talking quietly. Their conversation stopped short when the door opened, and both sets of eyes instantly flicked to her.

Artemis sighed. "About time, don't you think? What happened to a _quick_ shower?"

Holly blushed. "Sorry. I- I didn't realize... " She shook her head. "N- never mind. I'll just hurry up and go-"

"No," Artemis interrupted. "It's too late now." He walked across the room to the cherry- wood dresser and opened a drawer, then through a bundle of something fuzzy at her. "Just throw that on."

She unfolded it and discovered it was a bathrobe. "Okay." She scurried into the bathroom, then came out a few seconds later clad in the fuzzy blue robe. "Better?"

"Yes. Now sit." Holly did, and Artemis gestured from her to the unknown man swiftly. "I'm sorry about that. She's all yours now."

"Oh, it's fine, Mr. Fowl," the man said in heavily accented English. "I don't mind." He studied Holly closely. "May I ask what proof you have of this girl's species? How do I know that this isn't some kind of trick?"

"Come here, Mr. Baldwin. Holly, stand up." Both complied. "Good. Now, here's how." He pushed back the hair covering her ears, so that the tips were exposed.

"That looks... very authentic," Baldwin admitted. "But a skilled surgeon could do that. I want a more proof than that."

"Would a surgeon be able to alter her senses so that went I touched the point of her ears, she would react strongly?" Artemis questioned. "I think not."

"Really? Show me!" the man requested.

"Artemis-" Holly started to objected, but her train of thought was lost when he brushed the pad of his thumb over the tip of her right ear. She gasped.

He didn't stop there. Slowly, he increased his ministrations, eventually getting to the point where he was using his whole hand to massage the tip of her ear. Holly moaned, and felt herself go weak at the knees as she started to fall forward. Thankfully Artemis caught her and righted her, keeping the elf pressed closely against him afterwards.

"Well," Baldwin said, after a brief silence, "I'm convinced. That was definitely not a normal reaction. But in order for me to take this to the higher ups, kid, I'll need a little more. Have you done any anatomical tests, or that kind of thing?"

Artemis shook his head.

"No? No DNA tests or anything? Hmm..." the scientist droned. "I'll make you a deal then; I'll come back this time next week, with some people who are either high up or connected to the people who are, and you have a few of those things done for me. Then, if we're pleased, we'll start really getting into things. Fair?"

"Okay, that sounds about right," Artemis agreed. "But one thing. Perhaps, could I have a bit more time, so I could gather more proof? Say, maybe a month?"

Baldwin thought about it. "I don't know, that's kind of pushing it... but perhaps it could be arranged."

"It would be a big help," Artemis said helpfully.

The scientist sighed. "Very well. One month, no more. But by then you'd better have a lot of information for me."

"Deal. Thank you for your time, Mr. Baldwin," Artemis said, shaking the man's hand. He paused. "I trust you can show yourself out?"

"Of course. See you in one month, Mr. Fowl." Then the scientist left, and Artemis sighed as he turned back to her.

"Artemis-" she began uneasily, but he cut her off.

"Not now, Holly," he sighed. "Just lay down, and stay there until I come back for you. Don't move. I have some things I have to get, then I'm going to come back in and start testing you."

"Can I at least get dressed first?" she asked. He didn't answer. "Artemis? Can I?"

"No," he said, his tone slightly irritated. "Now don't ask again. Just lay there and wait patiently. I'll be back."

Holly sighed, thinking, _don't get snappy at me, I didn't do anything! _But she didn't say that aloud, just obediently climbed to the top of the bed and laid down. _Nothing to do but wait from Artemis to come start experimenting on me_, she thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Holly looked up as Artemis entered the room again. He walked over and paused at the side of the bed. His eyes appraised her briefly, and he sighed. "Lay down, Holly."

She complied, watching him warily as she did. He caught the look of distrust in her eyes. "Relax, Holly. I'm not going to start stabbing you or something, I'm just going to run a few simple tests."

She nodded, though she still was nervous, he could tell. "Is it going to hurt?" she asked.

"Some might a little bit, but I'm not doing anything too serious right now, so not really." He slid a brown bag off his shoulder, setting it down on the bed next to her, and started pulling stuff out.

Artemis lifted one item and held it up. She recognized it as a human thermometer. "Open your mouth." She did, under he grabbed her hand to bring it up and have her hold it. "Now hold that under your tongue," Artemis instructed.

Then he grabbed her other arm and laid it straight out across the bed. "Don't move your arm. Ah, and don't take that out until it beeps!" he snapped, when she started to pull out the thermometer. Her eyes widened, but she nodded. "Good."

Pulling out a little portable machine, he got her blood pressure and heart rate, and then the thermometer beeped and reported her temperature to be normal. Holly supplied him with some basic information, so that he had a reference whether the information turned out as it should be or not, but other than that stayed unusually quiet.

"Is something wrong, Holly?" Artemis asked. "You just seem quieter than you have been."

"I'm fine." Then she turned away again.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why so snippy with me today then?"

"I'm just not feeling very talkative today. Just leave me alone about it already."

"Excuse me," Artemis said, in a deadpan tone, "I was under the impression that you were the hostage, and I was the hostage taker, therefore, I am the boss." He put the blood pressure cuff back in his bag before turning to her and raising an eyebrow again. "I do believe that means _I _should be giving the orders around here, not you."

"Sorry," was all she said, though she didn't sound very sorry, and then she rested her head and closed her eyes.

The human took a few deep, calming breaths, then sighed. He laid down beside her and breathed, "me too," in her ear.

She didn't answer for a moment, then she asked, "why?"

"Hmm, _hostage_, let me think about it," Artemis deadpanned.

"Oh. That."

"Yeah. There you go, sweetheart." He grabbed her hand and started tracing small circles on the back of it.

"Don't call me sweetheart," Holly said, frowning. She opened her eyes and tried to withdraw her hand from his, but he held fast, so she sighed and relented, closing her eyes again as he spoke.

"Why not?"

"I don't like it."

"Well I do. And my opinion is the most important one."

Holly stared at him. "Exactly. Because I'm just the hostage, just the stupid tool in your little plan. I count for nothing. My _feelings_ count for nothing. I should have known this was all a lie to get me to cooperate," she gestured at the room around he with her free hand as she spoke, "and that your kindness was too good to be true." Then, knowing that even making it away from him would be impossible, she rolled over and faced the other direction.

"Holly," Artemis said sternly. "You-"

"What?" Holly demanded. Her tone was hard, and he could tell she was fighting to be strong, but he could also see she was failing. Her shaking was the easiest give away to that. "What now?" She stopped and took a shaky breath. "I know you're probably going to punish me somehow for saying this stuff, but I don't care," she said quietly. "I can't just _not_ say it anymore."

There was silence for a minute. Then Artemis ordered softly, "roll over and look at me, Holly."

The elf obediently rolled over, but she didn't open her eyes. She was still shaking, and harder now. "Holly. I said open your eyes."

"No. I don't want to see what your going to do to me," she whimpered.

"I'm not going to do anything to you," he promised. "Just open your eyes."

Slowly, hesitantly, Holly complied, and when she opened her eyes she found herself staring deeply into a pair of startlingly deep, dark blue ones. She swallowed audibly. "Artemis," she whispered, as he reached out and caressed the side of her face with the back of his hand.

"It's okay, Holly." Artemis stopped his hand, then carefully pulled her in. Holly snuggled in deeper, finding that she actually enjoyed the feeling of being held in his warm embrace. He sighed and rested his chin on her head. "We should really be continuing our experiments," Artemis murmured.

"Not yet," he heard Holly say from in his shirt. "Wait. Please."

So he did. He held her until her shaking subsided completely, and continued where his fingers left off on her hand on her back, tracing in the small pattern again until she fell asleep, still nestled in his embrace. Artemis made sure she was out cold before gently disentangling himself from the sleeping elf. He watched her for a moment before shaking his head and leaving the room.

And it was only later, when Holly woke up on the bed alone and started to get dressed again, that she realized that shapes he had been drawing on her body the whole time had not been circles at all, but small, perfectly shaped hearts.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, people! I'm back again, and with a deal this time: give me five reviews, I'll give you the next chapter! Sounds fair, right? Thought so! ;)**

**BTW— thanks to everyone who's supported this story so far! I appreciate it!**

The next day, Artemis took Holly down to his lab to start performing more experiments, the ones that could only be done down there because the equipment needed couldn't be (or he wouldn't risk it being) moved.

He named off things absentmindedly as they walked past them. Holly tried to ask as few questions as possible, not wanting to distract him from whatever he was thinking, but she was honestly curious about a lot of stuff. She made an effort to cut her questions down to a minimum.

"Artemis?" Holly asked hesitantly, at some point during the never- ending tour.

"What?"

"Are you okay? You seem distracted."

"I'm sorry, Holly, but actually I do have something on my mind. Would you like to know?"

"Umm, sure... If its not too personal."

"Actually, it's about you." He paused and turned, crouching down and placing his hands on the elf's shoulders. "I was just thinking, in order for this to work, I need a whole lot of information about you, and I'm sure there's some stuff that you know, but being so young, I don't think it will be enough."

"What do you need to know?"

Artemis shook his head. "I wasn't finished. What I'll really need is some convincing information is your anatomy. And I don't think you know enough about that to give me all the information I'll need to have."

"Artemis..." She dropped her gaze to the ground and shuffled from foot to foot, unsure. "I don't think I do. I mean, I haven't even reached the end of my first year at Haven High yet, and even if I had, I don't think I would." She looked back up at him. "What are you going to do about it though?"

He just gave her a sympathetic look and, touching his pointer finger to her collarbone, ran his finger in a straight line down her body to just below her navel.

She whimpered and gasped, pulling away from his touch. Her face had turned sheet white. "Your going to cut me open?!" she screeched.

"Holly," Artemis chided gently, "breathe. It's not going to be how you think, really. You don't understand exactly-"

"I understand perfectly!" Holly yelled, fuming. "You going to freaking take my insides out to use for your stupid little experiments, and when I die, you-"

"You're not going to die, Holly, not unless you keep acting like this!" Artemis interrupted. He placed his hands on the elf's shoulders, causing her to flinch. "Listen. That is not at all what I was going to do. I am going to cut you open, but," he added, "you're going to be fine. I'm not going to take your insides out, just going to study them while they're in there. You will be under anesthesia the whole time, and you won't feel a thing, I promise you. And I'm going to take you to perform the ritual right after."

"Really?" she asked, perking up a bit at the thought. "I get to perform the ritual?"

"Of course. Unless you'd rather I just put stitches in your stomach and make it so you had to heal up like a human." Artemis raised an eyebrow at her.

"N- no..."

"That's what I thought." He stood and turned, keeping a firm hand on Holly's shoulder. He started to walk away, but she set her heels in the floor. He turned back to her, slightly irritated. "What are you doing?"

"Not now." It was a statement, not a question. He sighed.

"No, not now, Holly. Later. You probably won't even be aware of when it happens, until you wake up. In the meantime, though, we cannot sit idly. I have some other experiments to do today."

She let out deep sigh of relief. "Okay. Good." Holly paused. "And... thank you, Artemis."

"Of course. Now, this way..."

He turned and started leading her down one of many rows of equipment, towards the back, and she hesitantly followed him.

And so began the next day of experiments.

Today he moved on to some bigger stuff. He took her height, weight, proportions, and a little bit of her blood for some testing, among other things. Holly trotted obediently along behind him the whole time, doing everything she was told without complaint, though there was some things you could tell she wasn't happy about.

She got a little nervous when he got out the needle to draw her blood. She yelped a little at the sight when he turned to her with it, and impulsively stepped back.

But Artemis shook his head. "Sit down, Holly." He gestured to a chair behind him. There was a little tray for her to lay her arm on, but she didn't until he grabbed it and laid it up there forcefully. "Leave it," he warned. She nodded, and stared up at him with wide eyes. Artemis sighed. "Don't be afraid. This will pinch slightly pulling it in and out, but that's about it."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just going to take a little bit of blood. Now, roll up your sleeve, please."

Their next week or so went on like this. He would take her to the lab and do many different experiments, and she would let him, albeit rather nervously. Half the stuff she didn't even really know what it was to be nervous about it, but she still managed. For her, that just made it more scary.

Finally, about two and a half or three weeks after the initial kidnapping, he announced it was time to be moving on to the bigger experiments. Or rather, experiment.

"Do we really have to do this, Artemis?" Holly asked when he came in her room to tell her. She was laying on the bed, reading a human book that Artemis had given her silently when Artemis came in.

"Yes." He squeezed the elf's shoulder comfortingly. "But it won't be that bad, really. It will be like that," he snapped his fingers to demonstrate what he meant, "over before you know it."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now, I think we should be getting started soon. Since its almost sunset right now, now is probably the best time to get started."

"What do I have to do?"

He smiled at her. "Now that's what I want to hear!" He ruffled her hair affectionately. "And nothing, really. Just drink this." He handed her a small cup, filled only about halfway. "That will take care of everything. Okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks Artemis." He started to pull away, but she grabbed his arm. "Stay with me until I fall asleep. Please?"

He sighed and laid back down next to her. "Fine. But just until you fall asleep."

"Okay," she agreed. She quickly drained the cup and then slid back down the pillows, so she was flat on her back, and closed her eyes.

The drink, or whatever was in it, worked fast. She was already tired enough to pass out. But there was one more thing she wanted first...

Holly barely managed to force herself to roll over. Her head landed against his shoulder, and she sighed as she felt Artemis's warm arms wrap around her body as she finally allowed herself to slip into unconsciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I know that many of you have been wondering about some of my actions with this story. Holly is, yes, very young, and as you can probably guess, way too young to be in the LEP. So how was she above ground?**

**Well, now it will be revealed how and who was with her. There was a few subtle hints, but not much, so I wouldn't be surprised if none of you guessed. But know you will know! **

**And without further ado... Drumroll please! *drumrolls***

Major Chris Short hovered above the oak tree, staring at the empty ground beneath him. She should have waited. She was supposed to wait. Holly had never disobeyed him before. It didn't make sense that she wasn't there, unless he had told her otherwise, or...

Or something happened.

"No," he muttered to himself. "Not possible." But even as he tried to reassure himself, he still couldn't fight the uneasiness gnawing at him. Something wasn't right, yet he couldn't quite put a finger on what.

He circled around the tree one more time, hoping in vain that she was there, that he'd just somehow missed her. But when he looked, she still wasn't there.

"D'Arvit," the male elf growled, yanking out his communicator.

The communicator was linked to two other people's communicators; his boss's, and his daughter's, who was supposed to be here. But she wasn't, so he tried her communicator first.

It rang through, but nobody answered, even as the major hovered and waited... And waited... And waited.

After about ten minutes, he hung up, and suddenly the world around him went silent. He paused before slowly raising the communicator and redialing. He listened closer this time, and he was able to make out the soft hum coming from below him. Clenching his jaw, he let his wings drop down to lower him to the base of the oak tree.

Sure enough, Holly's communicator lay, covered in mud and dirt, a small acorn laying beside it, right in front of the base of the ancient oak tree.

He growled in frustration, then dialed the second number programmed into his communicator. His boss picked up in under a minute.

"What is it, Short?" the commander, Julius Root, barked into the speaker.

"Commander, has my daughter returned to Haven?"

"How should I know?" he demanded.

"You're always in the office with that stupid centaur, and you know how he and Holly are. She would have been the first person she went to talk to if she came back!"

Julius paused, and the major could hear him exhaling out a huff of his fungus cigar. "I don't know. I personally haven't seen her, but I suppose I could talk to him about it." He took another drag on his cigar. "Why?"

"I'm worried about her," the major confessed. "I told her that my mission would take a little longer than usual, and that she should meet me here, tonight, at midnight. And she didn't show."

"She's a kid, Chris," the commander said, dropping the formal title for a moment. "She probably forgot. Or overslept or something."

"I don't think so. Holly is a soldier, like me, born and raised. She wouldn't have forgot, and she's too OCD about this stuff to even think about being late anyways." He paused. "Besides, I found her communicator buried in dirt beside the oak tree. I think..." He hesitated, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I think something might have happened to her."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. All the signs are here, Commander. Seriously, I'm really worried about her." I've already lost Coral, he thought. I can't lose Holly too.

It was like Julius read his thoughts. "Alright," Root said. "Relax. Come back down to Haven, and we'll see what we can do. I'll talk to Foaly, and I'd we find out anything, I'll just send you right back up, if needed. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," he replied. "On my way." He sighed and hung up. Picking up his daughter's communicator, he looked around wistfully one last time, then shook his head and pulled off towards the shuttle port.

**Does that clear things up? I hope so. And in this, I made Holly's mother dead before her father. I wasn't sure who went first, so if its wrong just consider it another thing I changed... **

**I think I'll stick sight the five reviews thing.. So you might want to start reviewing! ;) **


	7. Chapter 7

When Major Short arrived back in Haven, he went straight to the Ops Booth. Commander Root and Foaly were already waiting on him.

"Is she here?" he demanded, on entering.

"Your daughter is not in Haven, Major," the commander reported over his shoulder. "She has to still be above ground somewhere."

"How do you know that?"

"Because," Foaly answered, "there's no place in Haven that would block one of my trackers signals."

"What?" Chris exploded. "There's no signal on the tracker? Now how do we find her?"

"Oh, don't worry, Major. That's easy. I can find the tracker's path on previous days, until it hits the signal block. Then, it will lead us to her current location."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Do it." The centaur nodded, and in mere seconds the screen had the tracker's route pulled up on it.

"Hmm..." Foaly mused. "This loses signal rather fast. Where was the last place you saw her?"

"The shuttle port. That's where I gave her the instructions and sent her to perform the ritual, so she had some protection against the humans."

"Well, from the looks of it, that didn't work."

"What do you mean?"

"It looks like she made it to the ritual site, but never got to perform the ritual." He turned to face him. "She was taken by humans, I'm guessing, since she didn't fly out of there and I sincerely doubt Holly purchased a human automobile."

"What?" Major Short and his commander exclaimed at the same time.

"Yep," Foaly said, popping the P. "The signal is lost after they oh her in the car, up until they take her out. When they took her out, we have it again briefly, then she's gone again."

Holly's father gritted his teeth. "Where?"

"Hold on. I'll see if there's any place nearby important enough to have a signal blocker." He paused, turning back and clicking a few keys and buttons. Then he stopped. "Bingo. One place, within a mile."

"Where?" he repeated.

"Fowl Manor, Dublin, Ireland."

In an instant the Major was on his feet and ready to go. He only paused briefly to look at Root for confirmation.

His commands sighed and nodded. "Go scope out the situation. But be careful and stay in touch. I'll have some back up waiting, so if you need it, call."

"Yessir." Then he rushed out of the Ops Booth and was gone.

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